Efectos de una intervención de educación emocional en alumnos de un programa universitario para mayores

Abstract

University programs for older students aim at enhancing the cognitive, emotional and social skills as well as improving the quality of life and personal well-being. The emotional competencies, due to their impact at multiple levels on individual well-being, should be developed and promoted throughout all stages across the lifespan. However, there is a paucity of studies in Spain that have conducted intervention programs and, at the same time, have empirically assessed their impact. The main goal of the present study was to examine the effects of an emotional education program on older students. An experimental (n = 28) and two control groups (n1 = 23; n2 = 15) were used and assessed at two time points using the TMMS-24 and the MSCEIT. The results showed that, after a period of 4 months of intervention, the experimental group did not differ significantly from the control group mean scores of measures of emotional intelligence between the pre-test and post-test. These findings, although inconclusive, highlight the importance of promoting social and emotional skills throughout the whole lifespan. It is very interesting to enhance the emotional and social competences in this sector of the population in order to improve their personal adjustment and quality of life. Future studies should use representative sampling as well as include long term follow-up.